PITTSBURGH — Those who know Pitt wide receiver Tre Tipton know he is a special person. He’s a football player, a college graduate, and a mentor to so many. And now he can add Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award winner.
The National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals named Tipton this year’s recipient. The annual award honors student-athletes who have overcome great personal, academic and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success during their college playing years.
“I am extremely blessed and thankful to receive such a prestigious award in honor of the great Wilma Rudolph,” Tipton said. “My story is about how my life has changed over time. I hope that my story can help change the perspectives of people in their own lives. Adversity is a comma in the sentence of life, not a period.”
Tipton has been very open about his longtime struggles with mental illness. That coupled with countless injuries while playing football at Pitt put him in a very dark place. He says it was his fourth suicide attempt, standing on a bridge near Heinz Field when he made a commitment to live.
Pitt released this video of Tipton telling his story.
The Apollo native and Apollo-Ridge High School standout told WPXI during an interview in 2019. “I was an extremely depressed as a kid and going into my college days, I had a lot of issues with suicide and figuring myself out and what i wanted to do with my life,” Tipton told WPXI during an interview in 2019. “Football was always my gateway - the one thing that allowed me to be myself and just relax and be the person that I am. And when that was taken away from me, my suicide, my depressed increased exponentially. I got to the point when I was just tired of being tired.”
But Tipton found the strength to battle through the demons and the injuries and founded L.O.V.E. - which stands for Living Out Victoriously Everyday. The program helps and empowers student athletes who are dealing with mental, emotional and physical struggles.
“L.O.V.E. came from every injury I ever had,” Tipton said. “It just became one of those things that I became more positive from every injury. And every injury was a lesson to be taught and for me to be learning. And once I learned those lessons I thought, why not share those with the world.”
Tipton has already gotten recognition for L.O.V.E. He was named to the American Football Coaches Association’s Good Work Teams, and won the Freddie Solomon Community Spirit Award in 2019. Now he gets to add the Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award too.
“Tre has never allowed adversity, on or off the field, to get in the way of his high aspirations,” said Pitt Head Coach Pat Narduzzi. “His strength, courage and perseverance are an inspiration to our entire program. We are all incredibly proud of this recognition for Tre and know that he has even more great achievements in store for the future.”
Tipton returns for the Panthers this year for his 7th year, the extra eligibility coming due to his countless injuries. He already has graduated from Pitt with a bachelor’s degree in communications, and is now working toward a graduate degree in social work.
Tipton ended the 2019 interview with these words.
“I’ve always ask people, did you smile today? Because that’s hard. It’s not easy to wake up and smile everyday. But it’s an incredible opportunity to wake up so why not smile? Why not finish the day strong.”
He added, “I’ve always wanted to be a superhero. And until this day, that’s all I want to be.”
For so many student-athletes and his peers, he’s already there.
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